The Lone Earl
by Invader Xina
Summary: What happens when Sebastian has to leave for a day and Ciel is left without the help of his servants? It all lies in a package of meat!
1. His Butler, Absent

Ciel woke from his sleep. It was unusual for his butler not to be at his side at this hour to serve him his usual breakfast of fine english tea and scones.

"Se- Sebastian?" Ciel muttered groggily. "Sebastian?!" Still no reply. Ciel bolted upright, wincing as the sun light hit his eyes. "Sebastian! This is an order! Come to me immediately!" In his confusion, Ciel noticed the note on a silver tray with his usual tea and scone on his dresser as reached for his eyepatch. Ciel looked at it, puzzled

'Ciel,

I have left for the market to retrieve the choicest meat for your evening meal. I may not return till late. Please attend to your usual business and ask the other servants for help if necessary. I hope to be back shortly though I do expect some delay during the social season. Please forgive this mishap.

Your eternal butler,

Sebastian '

Ciel was shocked. Sebastian never left without permission! Let alone for at least half a day! But Ciel, the determined boy he was decided he would manage just fine with out his butler, as everyone accused him of not being able to do so.

Attempting to tie his eyepatch around his head, failing miserably at doing so, he simply positioned his hair over his right eye so no one would see the mark of the contract. He started to search for his clothing. Where did Sebastian put it? Even though he was a demon he couldn't make clothes appear out of thin air. He started thinking of the places Sebastian might put a 13 year old Earl's clothing.

Ciel looked in the various nooks and chests in his room. Nothing. Ten minutes had passed and he had still to find an article of his carefully tailored attire.

"Bloody hell Sebastian..." Ciel muttered in disdain. He walked over to the large doors of his bedroom, or so which he thought were the doors. To his surprise, there were rows of neatly folded and washed clothing sitting in tidy piles on shelves and pressed coats of velvet on hangers. Ciel stared at the closet. He hadn't really noticed where his clothes came from considering he was always woken by his butler who, at the time, was absent.

After his near half hour struggle, he finally managed to select and uncoordinatedly put on his outfit. His shirt was misbuttoned, his hair was a mess, and in a general sense, he looked as disheveled as though he had been tossed through the air into a pile of bushes. He glowered i the mirror with disgust. He wasn't even going to get started on where his comb probably was. He walked downstairs not caring if any of the servants saw him, he ate his scone as he walked down the stairs.

"Finnian! Mey-rin! Baldroy!" His voice echoed through the halls of the manor. "Where the hell is everyone?!" He called out, mostly to himself. Tanaka appeared out from behind a small indoor plant. "Tanaka." Ciel said firmly. "Where is everyone?"

"Ho, ho, ho..." Tanaka replied in a happy tone handing Ciel yet another note from Sebastian. This one wasn't for him though, this was to the servants. It was telling them of their day off. Ciel thrusted the note back at the steward and hit his head against the wall with frustration. Sebastian had left him completely to his own devices. No. He had taken his devices away. As an Earl, his servants were his devices. Now he had nothing but an empty manor and a house steward who really wasn't much help...


	2. His Butler, Needy

Ciel took his bedraggled self and walked back up the stairs to the study. He sat in his leather recliner and pulled up to the desk. On the desk, Ciel saw a letter on a sliver dish with the royal seal placed in crimson wax. A note from the queen.

"Sebast-." He cut himself short. Sebastian wasn't here to make a list of suspects for him. He hoisted himself up from the chair. "I'll just have to visit the yard myself then..." Walking down the halls, Ciel noticed how quiet it was. He had always silently pleaded to himself for some silence for at least a day but, this, this was too quiet. There was no dishes crashing, there were no trees being snapped in half, and the kitchen didn't sound like a war zone... The only sounds were his own footsteps and click of his cane against the stone floors of the lower levels. Aside from that, no. The manor was deserted. And worse yet, Sebastian wasn't here to do anything about it.

Meanwhile at the market Sebastian was wandering looking for the "choicest" meat. His mind kept wandering to Ciel, who he new from experience, couldn't button his own shirts. The demon chuckled lightly, shaking his head. Then he realized, he already had given the other house servants the day off. A streak of panic raced through his mind as he fought to keep it from his expression. The servants were all away, the Young Master couldn't preform the daily duties of hygiene alone to save his life, the Young Master can't cook, the Young Master was having Lady Eliza-...! He couldn't hold it back this time. A franticness overcame him as he tried to push through the crowds in the market. A completely incapable master without his butler, and a completely incapable butler, only due to the fact the incapable master was not presently with him, stuck in a market fighting down the urge to kill everyone, steal someone's package of steak, and make a break for it.

Ciel was really starting to get pissed off. He didn't know what to do. It was tea time his hair still looked he just woke up he was so unpresentable that even his fiancé, Lady Elizabeth probably couldn't find anything cute about him. After all, she was coming over for supper... Tonight... In three... Hours... A look of terror appeared on his face as a choked noise rose from his throat and both he and his butler called simultaneously from the market place and the desolate halls,

" I NEED THE MEAT!"


	3. His Butler, Insane

**Hello! Sorry these chapters have been so short! They are short but they will be many! And if you haven't figured it out yet, I have decided to choose a setting between the beginning of season 1 and the end of 2 all for the context of familiar characters and no spoilers! ENJOY!**

Ciel raced through the empty corridors, "Damned demon! Doesn't have the decency to make daily preparations before going to the market!" He muttered furiously. To hell sanity! Since no one was in the residence other then the steward, he figured it was fine to announce his frustrations aloud to himself. His feet eventually carried him to the drawing room. He stared at the grandfather clock in the corner. 12:34. Approximately 5 hours before Lady Elizabeth would arrive. "Bloody hell! Bloody damn hell!" Ciel hollered as he ran for the kitchen. If Sebastian thought 5 hours was a short time to prepare for Elizabeth, there was no time to lose. He would have to prepare dinner himself.

Sebastian looked around wildly only to obtain a handful of weird glances and people quickening their steps. The Young Master wasn't here right? No, he couldn't be here! And none of the house servants would spend their holiday at the towns finest market during the social season... He could lose it somewhat right? Well, even he couldn't, it was too late. Sebastian Michaelis was, in fact, losing it, in the middle of a market, during social season, trying not to kill people, over a package of meat. It was at times like this Sebastian wished he didn't have a contract to uphold. It was at times like this all he needed were a couple second rate souls to calm him down. It was a times like these that all he had to do wa-. _Damn it Sebastian! Focus! Focus!_ Sebastian tried to discipline himself. Screw it! There's no way everyone's getting out of this market either alive or sane! His thoughts raced as looked frantically around for a butcher shop. Until a flash of red caught his eye...

Ciel slammed open the kitchen doors to reveal the shining, white, porcelain counter tops. "In a moment they won't look so white..." Ciel muttered as he got to work. He opened all of the drawers to examine their contents. "What the hell are those idiots doing in here?" Ciel scoffed as he found a blowtorch in the first drawer he opened. This is probably what kept Sebastian so busy. All the while he had been asking for sweets... Ciel shook the thought away. _He is my butler. He has been able to handle this for 3 years now. He can continue to. _He got himself ready. Ciel equipped himself with one of Baldo's hats and a spare pair of Sebastian's gloves. He slipped them on up to the fingers and waved them around a bit he let out a short, bemused, laugh at the limp empty silk waving around in front of his face. Then upon realizing how immature and childish this was, pulled them on and got to work. Though they were still to big and waved about as he moved his hands.

Sebastian sighed with relief as he realized the flash of red he saw wasn't Grell. It was merely a cardinal flitting around the market, announcing the arrival of fall. But the next red thing he saw was. Sebastian backed away slowly through the crowd. _Hell! Why am I so tall?_ He was worried, losing it, probably lost all trust from his master, and had left Ciel alone in the manor to take care of himself AND prepare for her lady's arrival. Grell was the last thing he needed to deal with. And for what? A stupid package of meat? Why are butlers for the noble men and aristocrats? Why couldn't he have been contracted by some poor guy who was just happy to HAVE food? Damn! Grell had spotted him. He had been lost in thought for to long. Since he wasn't protecting The Young Master, he also couldn't do anything about it.

"SEBAS-CHAAAAN!" Grell called out through the crowd enthusiastically. "Oh! Don't look at me that way! Oh how I love it when you play hard to get!"

Sebastian heaved a sigh. "Salutations Grell. How have you been?..." Sebastian didn't want to put up a fight in the middle of the market. Nor was he allowed to without his master's consent. He was about to say something sarcastic, when he noticed the meat in Grell's arms... _SCREW. THAT._ Was all Sebastian could think. He wasn't going to submerge himself in the mercy of his homosexual reaper stalker! Or maybe he could... 10 minutes? No. It's just a package of hell damned meat. The meat! Sebastian made a lunge for it.

"Tsk tsk! Sebby! You know better then that!" Grell teased as he side stepped Sebastian's pounce. "You know that if you want something from me... You have to play a little to get it..." Grell murmured suggestively into Sebastian's ear as he got up and dusted himself off. He didn't like where this was going... Not at all... But he leaned in as though to kiss Grell, took the meat and ran. Grell was shocked, "No fair!" He called after the demon. Sebastian paused and turned around.

"But this is how I play!" He called back, and was gone just like that.


	4. His Butler, Rushed

Over the course of 3 hours, Ciel had managed to put together some ingredients to make spaghetti. With many panic attacks, confusions, calls from important people, and general slowness to interrupt him, he had the pasta, the ground beef was probably what Sebastian went to retrieve, 3 tomatoes, what he identified as oregano, a loaf of garlic bread, half a head of garlic, and a decent array of pots, pans, spoons, and other cooking materials. He looked for the cook book approximately 45 minutes before, but they were to high up for him to reach, even on a chair. The wall clock read 3:56 was he able to get this done in what was now 2 hours barely? Ciel made haste and got to work. He put water in the large pot and set it over the stove. Ciel looked at the pot rather pleased. Who said he was helpless? Tanaka had come into the kitchen to see what the racket was.

"Ho... Ho... Ho...?" Tanaka mused when he saw the Earl in the kitchen.

"Ah! Tanaka!" Ciel finally felt like he had a chance of getting things done in time for Elizabeth's arrival. "Let me know when Lady Elizabeth pulls up the drive will you?" Tanaka saluted and did his little "Tanaka Run" down the hall.

"Hohohohohohohohohoho..." Was all Ciel heard as he returned to his work. He threw all of the tomatoes into a bowl. It only made sense to remove the tomatoes leaves considering he never saw them in Sebastian's dishes.

"Now... What to mash the tomatoes with..." The Earl wondered. Then he saw the potato masher. Tomato and potato rhymed right? Surely he could achieve the same affect that it had on potatoes right? He was answered by a squirt of tomato juice just below his right eye. The contract! How was he going to hide it from Elizabeth? He would worry about that later. He put his hands in the juicy mess, only after washing them, to remove the skins of the tomatoes. He put it over the stove in another pot to warm it up and hopefully thicken it. He ground up some oregano as Sebastian announced he did with his whenever Ciel was served spaghetti. He did the same with the garlic for safe measures and threw it into the pot of tomatoes. He felt exhausted. But either way, the bread did have to be toasted... So he sighed and exasperatedly picked up the bread on the table, filled the blow torch with gasoline, and pulled the trigger.

Sebastian ran down the road, meat under arm with a reaper hot on his heels.

"Sebas-chan!" Grell bounded after him chainsaw whirring wildly in his hands. "Come play a game with me!" He whined feet hardly touching the dirt. Why was the manor so far from London? Why did Grell decide to go shopping? But then again, he did have his new prized possession, the meat. And until he returned to the manor, he would protect it with his life. Because only the devil, so really he himself, knew what the hell he had to go through to obtain this meat. He was on the brink of insanity for crying out loud! Stupid meat... He looked at his pocket watch as he sprinted down the road. It read 4:23. Her Ladyship would arrive at the manor in a mere half hour. He had to take a short cut. He instantly swerved through the trees, branches attempting to blind him as he went only to find themselves whipping at Grell who was close behind instead. He soon came out to a road, he recognized, he had shaved 10 minutes off his time, there was only a 10 minute sprint left to the manor. Only 10 minutes? Nice! This wouldn't be much work, he probably could fix his scratched up appearance as well on the way there. After all, he was merely one hell of a butler.

**Sorry this chapter is shorter then I planned it to be! More released tomorrow!**


	5. His Earl, Unprepared

GAH! So sorry! My computer was being weird yesterday! I will make up for it!

Upon putting his finger on the trigger of the blowtorch, Ciel felt it was a bad idea, but it was too late. Ciel hacked a cough as he cleared away the smoke. He glared at the bread. It was hardly singed and it sat there, mocking him silently in its breadish ways. The jolt of the blowtorch in his his arms had caused him to over aim. Ciel turned his glare to the large, smouldering, space on the porcelain and tried to glare even harder, if it was possible to do. But, the bread was cooked. That was all that mattered now. He looked down at his jacket and scoffed.

"Now I have to get the tailor in as well?! This is all Sebastian's fault! If he hasn't gone out to get that STUPID meat, and at least left me with ONE servant! JUST ONE! WHY? Of all the days he could've picked, he picked this one!..." Ciel went on ranting about the kitchen, which soon couldn't even be considered that as it turned into him practically listing off all the curses and swears he knew, subconsciously walking away to the dining room. The dining room! Maybe if he set the table really well and quickly, he'd have the time to at least comb the cinders from his hair and change his clothes. All the while distracting Lizzie from the food... He had forgotten about the food! He made a mad dash to the kitchen. All he could hear was his heart beating it wasn't the same beating as when, well... The Madame and Grell incident, it was worse. It pounded through his veins, making him feel rather dizzy. The mad clacking sound his heeled shoes were making as he ran wasn't helping the issue either. He nearly head dived into the kitchen upon arrival due to stumbling. He stirred the pasta and sighed with relief. The tomatoes had thickened somewhat and a familiar, though might I say no where near as luxurious, scent of cooking oregano wafted through the air. Though the kitchen looked as though a war had taken place upon his countertop, everything was in order. He heard a clear trilled ring call through the air. The phone!

"Who the Hell calls at a time like this?!" Ciel cried out in vexation. The nearest phone was on the opposite end of the house but considering the quiet, he could hear it echo through the halls with ease.

Tanaka sat on the ledge of the window, awaiting Lady Elizabeth's arrival. *ClackClackClackClackClack* What in the world could that have been. *CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLA* it was louder now. It crescendoed with great speed. All until he saw his Earl at the end of the hall looking like he just went down the chimney and landed in the glowing cinders of the fireplace, sprint in, literally screech to a halt on the hard wood, and make a mad dash up the grand staircase sending curses flying behind him on the way up. Stunned, Tanaka let out one long "hooooooo?" And continued to drink his tea in waiting for her Ladyship.

Ciel opened the door with great force as he panted and picked up the phone with his grimy hands. Panting, he answered the call.

"Hello-."

"CIEEEEEEEEEEL!" It was Elizabeth. She started talking faster then Ciel knew was possible. "Look I'm sorry but I will be an hour late because I can't choose what to wear for our date and the coach isn't here so please don't be angry with me!" A large smirk spread across his face. Thank GOD. He needed more time!

"Of course not!" He replied semisweetly, trying to keep the relief from touching voice, "How could be mad at uh.. Your... Mmm... Adorableness?"

"Oh thank you Ciel! I knew you'd understand! Love you!" And she hung up. Ciel sighed, time was ticking.

"No problem," Ciel said mocking Sebastian's deep tone, "A Phantomhive Earl who can't do this, isn't worth his salt!"


	6. His Butler, Negotiable

Sorry it's been so long! Very busy! VERY busy!

Sebastian raced down the dirt road at top speed with the sound of Grell's chainsaw ripping through the setting twilight. His thoughts wandered back to the young Earl he had left at the manor. Taking out his pocket watch as he ran, Lady Elizabeth should be pulling up the cobblestone drive in 20 minutes. He had failed. He Sebastian Michaelis had failed the young master. Wait, no! Sebastian Michaelis CAN'T fail! ESPECIALLY on a contract! Sebastian already going at Olympic breaking speeds picked up the pace. The chainsaw's horrific roar and Grell's taunting calls faded behind him. But he knew he couldn't slow down. It would only mean the red crazed reaper would catch up to him in sure time. Soon though, his breathing became laboured and a nauseous feeling over came him. Sweat dripped down his brow making his vision fuzzy as he ripped down the dirt road. He quickly looked down at his right arm. Though his tailcoat was drenched with sweat, the meat still remained in its position tucked tightly in the crook between elbow and side. I really need to find a new way to play games... He thought in an exasperated tone. He nearly tripped over a pothole in the road, twice. No more thinking. Stick to focussing. Besides, it was thinking that had gotten him into all of this trouble today. Racing down the way, he found it had become almost as laborious to breath as it was to run. Subconsciously, he ran to the side of the road and fell to his knees ripping the leg of his pants in the process. Remembering even demons have limits, they're just extended high above those of humans. He muttered a couple swears under his breath and fight the urge to throw up on the spot, so instead focused his attention on the meat. He glared at it. He HATED the meat. And he knew, that when a demon hates something, they meant that they HATED it. He thought about what he was going to do to the meat when he got it back to the manor... He'll just make it a bit more tender then what he normally cooked the young master after cutting it into tiny pieces, and maybe for the leftovers, the blowtorch didn't seem like such a bad idea... Sebastian looked to his left there he saw something that almost made double over with hysterical laughter; the Phantomhive Manor. He had done it! He pulled himself up shakily and walked up the drive. Was that Tanaka in the window? It didn't matter now! Sebastian rang the doorbell.

The hour had nearly passed. Ciel looked at the table pleased. The table was set, though somewhat messily, he had tried to mimic the placement of dishes and such that Sebastian prepared for him every night. The earl had made himself look somewhat presentable. He felt proud. Though he looked as though he was scum from the streets, her Ladyship was bound to be delighted in dressing him up to make him " cute". Ciel walked back to the kitchen and looked at the clock as he stirred the tomato sauce and spread it over a plate of pasta with a ladle, afterwards placing a leaf of oregano on top. It was now mere minutes before Elizabeth would pull up the drive. *DIIIIIIING DOOOONG* Ah! The doorbell! Lady Elizabeth had arrived just on time! He placed the plates of pasta on the rich mahogany table and walked to the foyer.

The door opened to Sebastian's surprise, he found his young master, though somewhat disheveled, looking up at him defiantly.

"Milord! I-" Sebastian started but was stopped by Ciel who waved the butler inside with a quick flick of his wrist.

"No need Sebastian. It's all done." He said briskly turning around. Looking over his shoulder with a mix of thoughtfulness and glaring he dismissed his butler. " Now go get yourself cleaned up before my fiancé sees you." Sebastian nodded and limped into the manor. He walked to his quarters through the dining room. A strong scent of oregano and overused garlic wafted towards him and caught his attention. He looked at the table and his eyes widened. Even though it seemed crude and messily made compared to his own, there were two pates of spaghetti sitting on the ends of the table in a place setting.

"CIEEEEL!" Lady Elizabeth's cries of delight rang through the hallway. Sebastian made haste to his room to get cleaned.

"Ah... Lady Elizabeth." Ciel greeted his frantic fiancé formally.

"Oh Ciel! I always tell you to call me Lizzzzie! Ciel! What happened to you?! You're all messy!"

"Uhh I erm-" Ciel stuttered. What would he tell Elizabeth. She looked at him patiently awaiting an answer. "I wanted to give you the honours of... Eh... Doing... My hair! Yes! Will you uh... Comb my hair...?" Ciel was having a hard time with this. He hated having his hair combed but Lizzie is Lizzie and it worked. Elizabeth's eyes lit up with delight.

"Ciel I'd love too! I'll make you look positively cute! Can I pick your outfit toooooo?! Oh Ciel can we dance and-"

"Elizabeth!" Ciel tried to calm Lizzie down thinking if the pasta on the table. "Why don't we eat first? You must be starving." Without a reply, Ciel with a bit of force took Elizabeth to the dining room. They entered the room. A sudden rush almost knocked Ciel of his feet. After the dark curtain lifted, Ciel found himself in a dressy outfit and neatly combed hair. Sebastian showing no sign of havoc and insanity from earlier, meat cooked and placed neatly on plates next to those already set, stood at his side silently smirking and said,

"Dinner, is served Milord."


End file.
